Does the Rothschild Family Really Control the Whole World's Finances?

Conspiracists have claimed the world is really run by one family: the Rothschilds. The claims go as far as alledging that this family owns Botswana and Zimbabwe. It may sound ludicrous but every year Forbes releases its richest people list, there are people questioning why the family is not included. 

There is a quote attributed to Nathan Rothschild (which after a diligent search, many people simply cannot find its true source): I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply.

It would have been conclusive had it been true but it is probably a fabrication so let us move to hard facts. First of all, this family has been said to be worth $500 trillion yet the Global Wealth Report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute revealed that total global wealth has now only reached $280 trillion. Simple mathematics will show that it is impossible for one family to own more than what exists. Others have claimed the family owns half the world's entire wealth which is $140 trillion right now. This is ridiculous for one simple reason: this family's wealth is so scattered and spread out that any attempt to calculate such figures is typified by conjecture and surmise. 

Snopes says, "The closest thing to a “Rothschild Family” business in 2016 is the Rothschild Group, a multinational investment banking company, but that firm does not in itself generate nearly enough income to back up claims about the family’s wealth. In 2015, the Rothschild Group’s annual revenue was approximately $500 million. In comparison, the world’s largest company, Walmart, has an annual revenue of nearly $500 billion."

The family may have had power at some point but in the 21st century, they are just another rich family which does not, however, run the whole world. Snopes rightly says, "Conspiracy theories concerning the Rothschild family date back to the 18th century, and the family’s wealth was largely responsible for the anti-semitic belief that 'Jews control the world’s money supply.' " These are rich Jews and the world will obviously try to undermine their impressive rags to riches story.